Light Matcha Chiffon Cake Recipe

Want a tall, light matcha cake that slices without crumbling? Chiffon cake gets its structure from whipped egg whites and a tube pan. You'll need about 5 tsp (10 g) matcha and 2 hours 10 minutes, including cooling, for eight slices. It's served by the slice; the selection of other Japanese matcha desserts also includes small bites and bowls.

• Preparation 25 minutes
• Baking 45 minutes
• Cooling 60 minutes
• Total time 2 hours 10 minutes
• Makes 8 slices
• Tools a 7-inch (18 cm) chiffon cake tube pan with feet, two bowls, a sieve, an electric mixer, a spatula, a thin knife, and an oven

Leave the tube pan ungreased so the batter can cling to the sides as it rises. Decide now where you'll invert it to cool. We choose Essence for this sweet batter that goes into the oven.

Matcha chiffon cake ingredients

• 4.2 oz (120 g) wheat flour
• About 5 tsp (10 g) matcha
• About 1 1/4 tsp (5 g) baking powder
• 5 medium eggs, about 8.8 oz (250 g) without shells
• 1.4 oz (40 g) sugar for the yolks
• 2.8 oz (80 g) sugar for the whites
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) sunflower oil
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) water

How to make matcha chiffon cake batter

1. Preheat the oven to 320°F (160°C) without convection.
2. Separate the whites and yolks of the 5 eggs, about 8.8 oz (250 g) without shells.
3. Whisk the yolks with their 1.4 oz (40 g) sugar.
4. Whisk in 1/4 cup (60 ml) sunflower oil.
5. Whisk in 1/3 cup (80 ml) water.
6. Sift 4.2 oz (120 g) flour, about 5 tsp (10 g) matcha, and about 1 1/4 tsp (5 g) baking powder over the yolks.
7. Fold with a spatula until no dry flour remains.
8. Beat the whites in a second bowl until foamy.
9. Gradually add their 2.8 oz (80 g) sugar.
10. Keep beating until soft peaks bend at the end of the whisk.
11. Fold one third of the whipped whites into the matcha batter.
12. Gently fold in the remaining whites with a spatula.
13. Pour the batter into the ungreased 7-inch (18 cm) tube pan.
14. Bake for 45 minutes at 320°F (160°C), until the top springs back under light pressure.
15. Immediately invert the pan onto its feet.
16. Let the cake cool in the inverted pan for 60 minutes.
17. Run a thin knife along the sides and central tube.
18. Unmold the cold chiffon cake.
19. Cut it into eight slices.

Stop beating the whites when they hold soft peaks. If they're too stiff, they won't blend well into the batter; if white streaks remain, fold gently a little longer. Inverting the pan then helps the cake keep its height.

Chiffon cake, mochi, or mille-crepes: which texture?

Chiffon cake owes its airy crumb to the whipped whites and tube pan. Mochi makes a soft, elastic bite; mille-crepes stacks thin layers of crepe and cream and is served cold.

Which matcha works in a light baked batter?

For this chiffon cake, we use Matcha Essence in a sweet oven-baked batter: heat softens the most delicate notes of a tea chosen for drinking with water. Sifting about 5 tsp (10 g) matcha with the flour distributes it through the crumb.

Our tip. Clear a place to invert the pan before you start baking. When it comes out of the oven, you can set it on its feet immediately.

Allergens. Wheat (gluten) and eggs.